On Sunday morning, teachers will arrive at schools and make their way to their classes, but there will be no pupils to greet them.
Instead, children will be perched behind computer screens at home, ready to watch pre-recorded videos instructing activities, as they direct questions at their teacher kilometres away.
Public and private schools across the UAE are preparing to teach pupils through mobile applications and online education platforms.
Not everybody is in the position to have reliable internet access
Teachers said a major challenge could be connectivity as hundreds of thousands of children will be logging in for digital lessons.
Some schools have prepared back-up plans – offline study material – that pupils struggling to stay online can use.
"I think the network infrastructure in the country is going to be tested but we have been given reassurances that we will be able to handle it,” said Brendon Fulton, principal of Dubai British School Jumeirah Park.
"It boils down to what kind of infrastructure people have at home. I do think the UAE is well geared to deal with something like this in terms of infrastructure but schools will have to make sure they can manage any issues. "
The school will also use programmes their pupils are familiar with to avoid further complications.
Primary school children will use a programme called See Saw, while secondary school pupils will work on Show My Homework and Microsoft Teams. Through these, teachers will post videos, instruct lessons, provide feedback and check homework.
Some teachers will be working at the school while others will work from home.
Sarah Griffiths, head of primary sections at Al Yasmina Academy in Abu Dhabi, said their teachers would be in classrooms on Sunday.
"Videos of lesson inputs are already prepared but teachers may have to innovate. Children will receive feedback through a mobile application," she said.
Al Yasmina Academy will also use Microsoft Teams and See Saw.
"We have hard copies of lessons and activities for children that they can access if parents find this [connectivty] is a problem," she said.
"Not everybody is in the position to have reliable internet access.”
Younger children will be encouraged to work alongside their parents.
"I see this as a positive move for our children and teachers are excited to try remote learning," she said.
Krishnan Gopi, chief disruption officer at Gems Education, said their schools had undergone trials and were "ready as we can ever be".
"An online education does not mean getting children and teachers online, it’s about proper lesson planning and identifying the correct content and having the right mix of online lesson and offline material,” he said.
Gems schools will be using their own brand of education learning systems, called Phoenix Classroom.
“Network and bandwidth concerns are a major challenge. Every single school has to adopt e-learning and we will all be using the same networks. There could be an issue if the whole country goes into online learning from March 22," he said.
He said schools would monitor and track the performance of pupils during the remote-learning period.
Children will be encouraged to stay active, set goals, and will be able to earn points for exercising.
Meanwhile, some teachers say they could use more training in online learning systems to better equip them for conducting lessons at home.
A British teacher at a public school in Sharjah told The National his attempts to use the e-learning platforms during a trial last week were not successful.
"We need a little more training. I was using Microsoft Teams, a software that is new to me but sending videos and getting documents were a challenge," he said.
The teacher said that when he was able to send the video, the audio did not work.
"We need more training or an instructional video to help us.”
If you go…
Emirates launched a new daily service to Mexico City this week, flying via Barcelona from Dh3,995.
Emirati citizens are among 67 nationalities who do not require a visa to Mexico. Entry is granted on arrival for stays of up to 180 days.
Who has been sanctioned?
Daniella Weiss and Nachala
Described as 'the grandmother of the settler movement', she has encouraged the expansion of settlements for decades. The 79 year old leads radical settler movement Nachala, whose aim is for Israel to annex Gaza and the occupied West Bank, where it helps settlers built outposts.
Harel Libi & Libi Construction and Infrastructure
Libi has been involved in threatening and perpetuating acts of aggression and violence against Palestinians. His firm has provided logistical and financial support for the establishment of illegal outposts.
Zohar Sabah
Runs a settler outpost named Zohar’s Farm and has previously faced charges of violence against Palestinians. He was indicted by Israel’s State Attorney’s Office in September for allegedly participating in a violent attack against Palestinians and activists in the West Bank village of Muarrajat.
Coco’s Farm and Neria’s Farm
These are illegal outposts in the West Bank, which are at the vanguard of the settler movement. According to the UK, they are associated with people who have been involved in enabling, inciting, promoting or providing support for activities that amount to “serious abuse”.
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Sunday's Super Four matches
Dubai, 3.30pm
India v Pakistan
Abu Dhabi, 3.30pm
Bangladesh v Afghanistan
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The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
New Zealand 21 British & Irish Lions 24
New Zealand
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MATCH INFO
Rugby World Cup (all times UAE)
Final: England v South Africa, Saturday, 1pm
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Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo
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Maros Sefcovic is juggling multiple international trade agreement files, but his message was clear when he spoke to The National on Wednesday.
The EU-UAE bilateral trade deal will be finalised soon, he said. It is in everyone’s interests to do so. Both sides want to move quickly and are in alignment. He said the UAE is a very important partner for the EU. It’s full speed ahead - and with some lofty ambitions - on the road to a free trade agreement.
We also talked about US-EU tariffs. He answered that both sides need to talk more and more often, but he is prepared to defend Europe's position and said diplomacy should be a guiding principle through the current moment.
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AT4 Ultimate, as tested
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Expo details
Expo 2020 Dubai will be the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia
The world fair will run for six months from October 20, 2020 to April 10, 2021.
It is expected to attract 25 million visits
Some 70 per cent visitors are projected to come from outside the UAE, the largest proportion of international visitors in the 167-year history of World Expos.
More than 30,000 volunteers are required for Expo 2020
The site covers a total of 4.38 sqkm, including a 2 sqkm gated area
It is located adjacent to Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai South
Shubh Mangal Saavdhan
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WORLD CUP FINAL
England v South Africa
Yokohama International Stadium, Tokyo
Saturday, kick-off 1pm (UAE)
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.